The Dishonest Steward

Scripture:Luke 16:1-12

1 He also said to the disciples, "There was a rich man who had a steward,
and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his goods. 2
And he called him and said to him, `What is this that I hear about you?
Turn in the account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.'
3 And the steward said to himself, `What shall I do, since my master is
taking the stewardship away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and
I am ashamed to beg. 4 I have decided what to do, so that people may receive
me into their houses when I am put out of the stewardship.' 5 So, summoning
his master's debtors one by one, he said to the first, `How much do you
owe my master?' 6 He said, `A hundred measures of oil.' And he said to
him, `Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.' 7 Then he
said to another, `And how much do you owe?' He said, `A hundred measures
of wheat.' He said to him, `Take your bill, and write eighty.' 8 The master
commended the dishonest steward for his shrewdness; for the sons of this
world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons
of light. 9 And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous
mammon, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal habitations.
10 "He who is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and he
who is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much. 11 If then
you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will entrust
to you the true riches? 12 And if you have not been faithful in that which
is another's, who will give you that which is your own?

Meditation: Do you make good use of your money and possessions?
Jesus seemed to praise a steward (a manager entrusted with his master's
goods) who misused his employer's money. What did the steward do that made
Jesus praise him? The steward was responsible for managing his wealthy
landowner's property. He very likely overcharged his master's tenants
for their use of the land and kept more than his fair share of the commission.
When the landowner discovers the steward's dishonest practice he immediately
removes him from his job, leaving him penniless and ashamed to beg or do
manual work. Before news of his dismissal becomes public knowledge,
the shrewd steward strikes a deal with his master's debtors. In discounting
their debts he probably was giving up his generous commission. Such
a deal won him great favor with the debtors. Since he acted as the
landowner's chief financial officer, such a deal made his master look very
generous and forgiving towards those who owned him money. Surely everyone
would praise such a generous landowner as the town hero! Since the
master could not undo the steward's cancellation of the debts without losing
face and making his debtors resent him, he praises the steward for outwitting
him as a generous and merciful landowner.

Jesus obviously thought that the example of a very clever steward would
be a perfect illustration for a spiritual lesson about the kingdom of God!
What's the point of Jesus's parable? The dishonest steward is commended
not for mishandling his master's wealth, but for his shrewd provision in
averting personal disaster and in securing his future livelihood. The original
meaning of "shrewdness" is "foresight". A shrewd person grasps a
critical situation with resolution, foresight, and the determination to
avoid serious loss or disaster. Jesus is concerned here with something
more critical than a financial crisis. His concern is that we avert
spiritual crisis and personal disaster through the exercise of faith and
foresight. If Christians would only expend as much foresight and
energy to spiritual matters which have eternal consequences as much as
they do to earthly matters which have temporal consequences, then they
would be truly better off, both in this life and in the age to come.

Ambrose, a 4th century bishop said: The bosoms of the poor, the houses
of widows, the mouths of children are the barns which last forever.
True wealth consists not in what we keep but in what we give away. Possessions
are a great responsibility. The Lord expects us to use them honestly and
responsibly and to put them at his service and the service of others. We
are God's servants and all that we have belongs to him. He expects us to
make a good return on what he gives us. God loves generosity and he gives
liberally to those who share his gifts with others. The Pharisees, however,
had no room for God or others in their hearts. The gospel says they were
lovers of money (Luke 16:14). Love of money and wealth crowd out love of
God and love of neighbor. Jesus makes clear that our hearts must either
be possessed by God's love or our hearts will be possessed by the love
of something else. What does your heart most treasure?

"Lord, all that I have is a gift from you. May I love you freely
and generously with all that I possess. Help me to be a wise and
faithful steward of my resources, including the use of my time, money,
and possessions."